While the campaigning for the Bihar Assembly elections gains pace, speculations are rife about when the state will go to the polls. As per local media reports, the elections will be announced in the first week of October.
The elections will be held in two phases in November, according to unconfirmed local reports.
Earlier, fake claims have been going viral stating that the first phase of voting will be on October 24 and the final phase on November 20. The elections will be held for the 243 seats in Bihar, and in 2020, the elections were also held in October and November. However, it was held in three phases - 71 seats on October 28, 94 seats on November 3, and 78 seats on November 7. The results were declared on November 10.
First elections after the caste survey
This is the first election after the 2023 caste census conducted by Nitish Kumar's NDA government. The caste survey has intensified debates on social justice, reservations, and power-sharing. The caste survey revealed that 63 percent of Bihar's population belongs to OBCs and EBCs. This includes Yadavs at 14 percent and EBCs at 36 percent. The Scheduled Castes (SCs) constitute 19 percent, while the upper castes constitute 15 percent. The Muslim population is approximately 17 percent.
Survey hints at potential CM
Multiple survey results are reportedly favouring RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the most popular face for the post of Chief Minister. While 24% people expressed their desire to see Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister again, 33.5% said Tejashwi was their choice. Nitish had received 25% support in the July survey, which dropped to 24% in September. In contrast, Tejashwi's support increased slightly – from 32.1% in July to 33.5% in September. The survey found that while 12.4% people considered Prashant Kishore as the next Chief Minister in July, this number increased to 13.7% in September.
